A Mother's Love
by xXdivinexpressionXx
Summary: In honor of Mother's Day, Paula tells the tale of her first born.


_Disclaimer: All characters belong to Eve Titus and the Walt Disney Corporation. Any OCs belong to me. _

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I am too young for this_, I thought, worried and disappointed with this sudden chain of events. I was just getting used to fact that at the age of twenty-three I was no longer Paula Marie Mendez but Mrs. Jonathan Lee Basil, the wife of Mousdom's greatest mouse detective. It has a wonderful ring to it. Something I would always hold close to my very heart because that is how much I am deeply in love with the mouse I now call my husband...your father. _

_It was not that I never wanted children of my own, far from it. I always thought that even though I was no longer in my world-my time period-that I would still have some control over certain turning points in my life. Though I fell for your father the moment I laid eyes on him and agreed to marry him only after he had gotten to know the real me within a year, I still had wished that I could have had him to myself. Yes, I suppose one can say that I was a bit selfish for thinking such a thing at the time, but when you are in love all you can think about is them and no one else. You seem to forget about everyone and everything around you. _

_I will say that I do not regret giving myself to your father. Even before we became engaged, I was so certain that I wanted him to be my one and only. Fortunately, he rejected any request to be intimate with me more than once when he began to court me. In fact it I was turned down more than the number of times he said he would. Perhaps it was the very fear of us having a child out of wedlock, perhaps not. I don't recall him ever giving me a real explanation. It was already tolerable enough for poor Mrs. Judson that your father and I were sleeping in the same bed together before we married for reasons you very well know, but I could sense her worry that we were taking certain liberties while she was asleep though she herself never expressed them out loud. _

_Still after we married, the news that I was pregnant was as heartbreaking as it would have been if you were conceived before we married. At first, it seemed that all anticipated and were excited of your arrival but me. For the first few months, when your father wasn't around, I would stand before the mirror seeing if my body had changed physically. I was aware of the the few changes, the frequent vomiting, tenderness of my breasts, and the fact that my own clothes were no longer fitting, all of those particular occurrences I knew was not right, but even still I ignored them for some strange reason. It almost seemed as if I was oblivious. But when the truth was revealed, I wondered if it were even possible to turn back time and do things over, but soon guilt would overcome me as quickly as the thoughts did as a reminder that things such as that were not allowed do-overs and over time that situation that was once thought of as a mistake, was soon treasured._

_As days came and went, my fears melted away and all that remained was excitement and anticipation. I counted down the days until I would finally get the chance to hold you in my arms. Months flew by and it was clear to not just my close friends and husband, but to everyone that I was with child. When laying in bed at night, I would watch as your father caressed my swollen belly, feel his soft kisses, and smile lovingly as she spoke to you. If I were to tell someone who did not know your father as well as I did, they never would have believed such a thing. When news went around of our marriage, the entire city of London was in a state of shock. Yes, all were clearly aware that he had changed, even still none would have assumed that he would step out of this life as a bachelor and marry. Now it seemed that the revealing of my pregnancy had caused all to have a massive heart attack. Your father was a changed mouse, even more so when you came around. _

_The night you were born was the most terrifying experience for the both of us. Though I had Mrs. Judson with me, I still felt alone as I was given no choice but to deliver you without your father by my side. With each contraction, each push, I felt that I wanted to die. The pain was far worse than anything I had ever felt while I felt as if I was being ripped from the inside out. In fact, I almost did lose my life. But something that night kept me alive so that I may be given the chance to watch you grow and one day experience life on your own. As you know, your father considers you as my gift to him considering you both share the same date of birth. Seeing you in his arms was always a glorious sight for that told me that he truly proud. You like a delicate glass sculpture to him and if he made one false move, you would break. Your father seemed to be in his own world as he kept you close while tears of joy streamed down his tired eyes. _

"Each year that you have been with us has been nothing but an adventure to us regardless of how stressful being a parent seemed at times. Your father and I would never trade it for the world. You were the best thing to happen to us," I said calmly as I sat collectively in the familiar red chair.

"What about me?" Amara, my youngest daughter questioned, as her dark brown eyes looked up at me.

"The both of you were," I assured her as she leaned into me, her tiny hand on my swollen belly, "the fact that you and your sister were born healthy and safely is a miracle in itself."

"Not only that," my husband soon added, "you, my dear came into our lives because we were given a second chance."

"But I didn't replace Alexander, did I?"

"No, your brother will forever have a place in our hearts. But it seems that having you was Fate telling your mother and me that we could no longer suffer his loss."

"Do you think you'll have another girl?" Sara asked as she sat by her father's side on the floor across from me, her head resting on his lap.

"It is a likely possibility, but we'll see."

"I want a baby brother," Amara exclaimed, "that way Daddy won't be alone."

I smiled as Jonathan laughed, amused by our daughter's logic. "I appreciate the though, my dear, but I would be just fine if your mother had another girl. All I want is for the baby to be well," he replied, brushing his fingers through Sara's hair.

"Don't you want a son, Father? I would assume being around girls would drive one mad," our eldest questioned.

"Sara, you must understand that I am not like other gentlemice. Yes, one may think being around young girls and women on a regular basis as tiresome, however, I find it to be the very opposite."

"Well, that's good to hear," I commented, chuckling lightly. As I looked up at the small clock on the mantel, I added, "And speaking of young girls, you need to lie down for a nap."

"But I'm not sleepy," Amara said before she let out a big yawn.

"You're not, huh? You could have fooled me."

"Wait," Sara interrupted, "Amara, we almost forgot."

"Forgot what?"

"Oh right, we'll be right back," said my little one before she carefully hopped off my lap. I watched the great curiosity as she took hold of her sister's hand before they rushed together up the staircase.

"Hmm, I wonder what that was all about," I inquired, turning to my husband who carried the same expression as I.

"I too am curious, but you know our daughters; they are a mystery at times," he replied. .

"They take after their father, so I wouldn't imagine why." It wasn't too long after hearing a door close that the girls rushed back down, careful to hiding one hand behind their backs. "All right, you two, what's going on?"

"We almost forgot to give you these," Sara replied before she and her sister produced a small gift to me.

"What's this?"

"You'll have to open them to find out, Mommy," Amara answered, before handing me her present. "You need to open mine first." Without any hesitation, I undid the small parcel before opening the lid. Inside held a small teddy bear. I smiled softly before looking at my youngest daughter grinning from ear to ear.

"Since we don't know if the baby is going to be a boy or a girl, Grandma Judson helped me make this!" The look of excitement on her face as she told me this brought so much warmth to my heart. "I would have helped sew it, but she wouldn't let me."

"Well, it's wonderful, sweetie. I'm sure the baby will love it," I told her before she crawled back onto my lap to give me a hug.

"Here's mine," Sara said as she gave me her gift. "It's not much, but-"

"What ever it is, I'm sure I'll love it." She felt reassured as I unwrapped the brown paper. At first all I saw was the back of a picture frame, but turning it over, I was in awe at the sight before me. "I found an old photograph of you and father before you were married. It seemed a bit ruined, so I figured I'd try to recreate it."

"This was the one that was on the mantel in our bedroom wasn't it?" I asked Jonathan before he nodded in response. "Oh, honey, this is fantastic. Thank you, girls."

"Do I still have to take a nap?" Amara asked, causing me to laugh as I wiped away a tear from my cheek.

"Yes you do. Sara, can you bring her upstairs, I'll be there in a moment."

"Yes, Mother," she responded before taking her sister into her arms and carrying her to her bedroom. I couldn't help but look back at the gifts in front of me and smile.

"Wasn't what you expected?" Jonathan asked, rising from his own seat.

"You knew, didn't you?" I asked him, his smug grin quite noticeable.

"How could I not and especially on a day like today. I had to keep quiet."

"So, you helped them?"

"With Amara's gift, yes; however, Sara's I was unaware until she showed me the finished picture. I thought that photograph was ruined by the fire."

"As did I," I agreed.

With one hand behind his back, Jonathan held his other hand out to me. Taking hold, he helped me out of the chair before taking me into his arms as we met in a passionate kiss. I felt myself melt before long until we had no choice but to part. Even as we gained back our breath, we remained in our loving embrace.

"I love you," he told me, his voice a mere whisper as he rested his head again my own.

"I love you too," I told him, keeping him close. After a few moments, I felt his hands, move from my back to the sides of my belly.

"Speaking of presents, there's still one more you need to open," Jonathan finally said, breaking the silence between us.

"Really?"

"Mmhmm," he replied before pulling out a small jewelry box from the pocket of his black trousers. As I opened it, I was confused to see the very same necklace he had given me three months prior as a Valentine's Day gift. "Look closely, dear," he answered for me. When I did, I noticed on the locket next to Amara's birthstone was a new one.

"Jonathan…this…t-this is…" Holding him close once more, I caught his lips again in another kiss. "Thank you."

"For the mother of my children, you deserve the greatest gift that I know will always be treasured."

"Well, this little one will definitely be something worth treasuring…and so will this," I finally added before pulling him into a deeper, more passionate kiss. Though the gifts I had received were a treasure in themselves, the greatest thing I could ever have and give is love; love for my wonderful husband and children and in return, being the best wife and mother I could ever hope to be.


End file.
